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Suspicious leaks reported on the Nord Stream pipelines from Russia to Germany represent a “severe safety and environment hazard,” according to experts at the Eurasia Group.

Nord Stream operator Nord Stream AG reported Tuesday that both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have sustained “unprecedented” damage via three known leaks, adding it was impossible to estimate when the gas network system’s working capability would be restored.

Danish and Swedish authorities declared a no-shipping zone around the location of the suspected leak in their maritime zones while Denmark raised its power and gas safety alert level.

Henning Gloystein, director of energy, climate and resources and senior analyst Jason Bush, both at Eurasia Group, said in a note Tuesday that while German and Danish authorities said the cause of the leaks was unknown, “unplanned leaks to undersea pipelines are rare as they are designed to avert accidental damage.”

“Several EU sources said sabotage seemed likely. Neither pipeline was delivering commercial gas at the time of the leaks, yet given both lines were still pressured and each has the capacity to pipe around 165 million cubic metres of methane-heavy gas per day,” they said, adding: “Leaks of this size are a severe safety and environmental hazard, especially should Russia not stop pumping gas into the system.”

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines have centered heavily in the breakdown of relations between Europe and Russia because of the war in Ukraine. The new Nord Stream 2 pipeline had not even opened when the German government refused to certify it for commercial operations after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the functional Nord Stream 1 pipeline is currently not being used to deliver Russian gas to Europe after Gazprom, the Russian gas giant, said there was a technical fault with a turbine that could not be fixed due to Western sanctions.

The latest report of leaks make it even less likely that gas supplies to Europe will resume before the winter, analysts now say.

“Depending on the scale of the damage, the leaks could even mean a permanent closure of both lines,” Eurasia Group said.

Gazprom declined to comment when approached by Reuters.